Editorial

African Health Sciences: the journal that will fill the evidence based practice void in Africa.

Welcome to this maiden Issue of African Health Sciences! Well, It has had a very long gestation period!

So why this new journal by the Makerere Faculty of Medicine?

There is now urgent need for evidence based practice whether in public health, clinical practice or when tackling pressing development issues such as HIV/AIDS, the tobacco scourge or the health needs of the urban poor. Increasingly health, policy and development practitioners have had to rely on information generated by western researchers and their institutions. Yet this information may have little relevance to conditions In Africa.

Therefore the establishment of a credible medium and database for the exchange of the most current health and development information is critical.

Researchers and health, policy and development practitioners attempting to publish their work may be too timid to publish in western journals or these journals may, more often than not, reject work, which is not so relevant to practice in the western countries. Their, work therefore may remain unpublished. Such researchers and practitioners get discouraged and they might stop attempting to publish, and eventually they drop out of research altogether!

Another unfortunate trend is for local authors and researchers to focus on areas which may not be of national or regional priority but which would find more acceptability In foreign non-African journals. Local health problems may remain unsolved. While there are a couple of regular medical journals in the region, there is no regular multidisciplinary publication putting emphasis on evidence based practice across the fields of health, policy, research and development.

Challenges and unique opportunities

The new millennium has ushered in new challenges and opportunities. Thus there is more emphasis now on working with the civil society in issues of governance, accountability, decentralization and engaging the private sector in resource mobilization and health care provision. Then there is the HIV/AIDS issue, the emergence of new epidemics of malaria, Ebola and others in view of the collapse of the state in many countries.

The issue of conflict and its consequences including gender inequities are all challenges that the traditional health sector never prepared its workers to tackle. Yet innovative approaches such as the effective onchocerciasis work in West Africa pioneered by the WHO AFRO director, Dr. Samba, are examples to be emulated.

Such work whether at local or national level needs to be communicated to the wider audience so that other people have a chance to adapt it to their local situation and to scale it up in country where this is possible.

The documentation and publication of such experiences is a daunting task that challenges the overburdened and often under-resourced health care system. The Makerere Faculty of Medicine has risen to the challenge by starting the publication of the multidisciplinary African Health Sciences.

Objectives

In order to fulfill its mandate African Health Sciences has clear objectives, which include:

• Advocate for, and promote the growth of a reading culture in sub Saharan Africa.

• Provide a high quality journal (African Health Sciences) in which health policy and other researchers and practitioners in the region and worldwide, can publish their work

• Promote relevant health system research and publication in the region including alternative means of health care financing, the burden and solution of health problems in marginalized urban and rural communities, amongst the displaced and others affected by conflict.

• Promote research and systematic collection and collation and publication of data on diseases and conditions of inequity and affluence.

• Promote development of evidence-based policies and guidelines for clinical, public health and other practitioners.

Philosophy

African Health Sciences will uphold high standards of professional ethics and practice using scientific merit, originality and relevance as the yardsticks by which to judge articles for publication. We shall, as much as possible, provide constructive guidance and advice and make professional help to those whose command of the English language might not be adequate. We shall not accept any donations from tobacco companies given the deleterious effect of tobacco smoking on health.

What is in this issue?

In this Issue we bring you several original articles.

Dr. Erume and colleagues¹ report results of their study on intranasal administration of measles vaccine while Kiwanuka and Mwanga² share their experience with pyogenic meningitis in Mbarara Hospital in Uganda. Olila and collaeagues³ report results of their study on the trypanocidal effects of an endangered African tree, while Sekirime' findings on the attitude and sexual behaviour of University students give us another angle of health promotion given the HIV/AIDS pandemic.⁴

There are several case reports on African Histoplasmosis simulating Pott's disease, use of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of splenic rupture and an interesting case of empty selia syndrome.

Under the ‘practice points’ section we bring you current recommendations for cotrlmoxazole chemoprophylaxis in adults and children with HIV/AIDS and a review of the value of nevi rapine in the prevention and treatment of HIV infection.

Dr. Weeks reviews that important organ: the placenta, while Susan Rifkin who is a world expert on community participation has reviewed ten best readings in community participation and health. Our people are the most valued resource! We must find innovative ways to enable us contribute to making their health better. African Health Sciences will be your partner in this process.

Editor